236 HUNTING WITH THE ESKIMOS 



cording to astronomical reckonings, above the horizon, 

 though as yet we could not see it, for our position 

 was entirely shut in save to the westward directly 

 across Smith Sound, where the dark cliffs of Cape 

 Sabine and Victoria Head rose, plainly visible. 

 Billy Pritchard was with me now in the shack and 

 we were both impatiently eager to get a first glimpse 

 of the Arctic sunrise. With this in view we climbed 

 a high mountain behind Annootok, but to our dis- 

 appointment still higher mountains to the southward 

 foiled our hope. 



On our return I met with a painful accident. The 

 snow on the mountain side was packed and frozen 

 into solid ice, upon which it was almost impossible 

 to get a foothold. I slipped in the descent and was 

 shot down over the smooth surface for nearly fifty 

 yards, when I struck a large boulder with consider- 

 able force. My left leg was so badly injured that 

 for a long while I could not step upon it. When I 

 managed at length to hobble back to the shack the 

 leg was badly swollen and for the remainder of the 

 day I could not get around at all. Fortunately, 

 however, no bones were broken, and though the swell- 

 ing continued for several days I was able to resume 

 my walks on the ice foot and was out as usual the 

 following morning. 



This, too, was a beautiful day, though bitterly cold, 

 with the highest temperature during twenty-four 

 hours, thirty-four degrees below zero. The highest 

 tide during my northern sojourn came in, flooded the 

 ice foot and drove me back to land, and while walk- 



